Violet's sister had been a sailorlast of all. She
had the measures of the sea engraved within hersmallest
particles.She had the waves moving through
her, the tidesseeking her always the roiling
and the gentle lifeof the waterswas
within her.Her eyes revealed thisat
times.Rarelydid
1 find her hands without the ropes and spyglass,she
needed no excuse: she went. She
tookthe seas of all the Earthand
wound them through her brain and through her heartand
colored them to give them life. Violet's
sistersifted the seas, the China Sea where
she ran before windsstrumming the striped
mandolinfrom the forecastlepressed
the sqeeze box 'til gulls harassing the sternscreaming
dove into the green and mounting waters driven to such performance by her
compelling strains. The
bowsprit braved the Preacher.That was her
gallant crafting and her inspiration,her endeavor,
the bold Preacherjutted his bearded chin before
the mast, into the winds, into thefoamy waters
rushing to the cleaving keel like dolphins dancing withillustrious
cartouche.It could be seen,it
was all quite clear.She vowed the Preacher
exercised an industry invincible,and then
she laughed.

She played the tiny concertina all the way to Indiaand
the southern islewhere went ashore to sample
roast pig and fruit among thick treesand place
bright brass about her wrists and a ring through her nose.Then
she partook, being ready,of the revolution
therewielding carven fired swordlike
lightning about her shining head. She
shook back her mane of hairand took up the
broad belt burdened with coinsfrom many landsreal and notexisting
and notreadyeverfor the mightof the waysand of the wavesshe went
onskimming the crests like turrets skimmed
by high hot balloonsand laughing like that,
dancing like Hindoo maidensshe went on,on,in grace,eversinging secret rhymes and chimes of frigate birdsfor the brown pelicans and the sealswho
heard them 1st and marveled and blinked theirweed
brown eyes as her ship sailed boldly rigged
up to San Francisco's wharves. There
sheunloaded unmanageable energy, vibrant beauty,through the ruby-curtained palacesand
shedsand took on freedmen and waterand raced south in the teasing embrace of rogue windsin order to venture east. This did
not seem strange at allto shewho
had listened to sagas in shellsand plunged
the far abyssal deeps within the ringing firmament.